TRUMPED
by toupeedclown
Summary: Nobody thought that a President's drinking buddy would lead to the end of the world. Well, that was until it actually happened.
1. Prologue

It's a beautiful day across the nation's capital. The sun's shining, the birds are chirping, and a nuclear winter has begun. Wait a minute… I'm jumping ahead of myself now.

My name is John, I was once a White House correspondent for the Washington Post. If you're reading this, you're one of the very few who survived the nuclear apocalypse. The weeks leading up to "Trumpsday," as we called it, were wild and tumultuous. A scandal here, a scandal there. For us new to the whole political press thing, it was entertaining. We had new stuff to write about throughout that week, and with all the leaks that we had obtained from the inside the White House, it was even better. For a journalist, I don't think I could've dreamed of anything better.

And then it happened.

Our perfect union.

Gone.

All it took was a five month long investigative piece, a bunch of drugs, a stash of pornography, and two investigative journalists hiding out at a bar.

And Bill Clinton.


	2. Day One

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Our day started off relatively normal here in the newsroom. Yesterday's front-page story was about the D.C. Metro system breaking down again, and by editor's request, our top investigative reporter was on the case. Well, at least until eleven in the morning. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"It was the usual situation for me and my fellow White House correspondents. Every day around lunchtime, we gathered around at Fuel, a damn good Italian restaurant somewhere in Chinatown to read the President's Twitter account and find something good to pounce on for the day. Today was different. Much different./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Before I could even leave the office for a mean Stromboli though, my phone began to ring off the hook. Really, it could only have been one of two people; my mom calling to make sure that the Secret Service hasn't killed me yet or one of our insider sources is calling to dish the dirt. For once, I was hoping it would be my mom just so I could get my hands on some fresh Italian food. Either way, I couldn't let my childish grandeur get to me./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"I picked up the phone only to hear a panicked voice on the other end./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""John. Trump's gone mad."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""He read our report, huh?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No. Sarah Huckabee-Sanders left him a message to wake up to. I'll e-mail that to you as soon as soon as I get away from my office."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Thanks man."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"And just like that, the call ended. However, that's all the info I needed. Seemingly, a President was going mad, and it was all my fault. Either way, I now had something to look forward to once I got back to my office. But first, lunch./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"It was a sunny day in our nation's capital that Wednesday morning. I don't particularly think there was much to complain about, the weather was nice and brisk for an early-March morning. The sounds of planes flying into Reagan National Airport could be heard throughout the District. Cherry blossoms were finally in full bloom along the Potomac, and all was calm. I took my time enjoying the sights of DC before heading on toward Chinatown via the Metro. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"If civilization ever returns to some form of normality, the tunnels make for great nuclear fallout shelters. That's neither here nor there though./em/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"When I finally get to Fuel, I'm greeted by a few really good friends. Errol and Jim were hanging back at the bar, just waiting for me to arrive. Of course, they already knew what to order for me, none of us ever change up our order. A fresh Stromboli, a pint of Guinness, and a cup of water. As soon as I sit down, I don't even have a chance to breathe before the questions start getting pounded my way./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""John. What in the hell did you find?"/span/p  
div style="mso-element: para-border-div; border: none; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Hey Errol. Jimbo. I'll tell you what I'm willing to tell you, but you better stay hush hush before the article comes out."/span/p  
/div  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanJust a few days ago, I had received a tip about President Trump getting drunk with what was described as "a few political enemies." A president getting drunk is a story in itself, but a president getting drunk with his so-called "enemies?" Depending on who it was, it could potentially be front-page news./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI had to pull a few teeth, but we made the story happen. We knew where the President's go-to bar was. Everybody did, really. The Benjamin Bar and Lounge. Right in the lobby of the Trump International in the heart of the District. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanYou know who else knew that spot? Two of our decoys. Now yes, we knew full well that sending in decoys to spy on a President and his antics is very shunned upon, especially in the political climate we were stuck in. However, that didn't stop me or the two of them. The pay might've helped too, to be honest./span/p  
div style="mso-element: para-border-div; border: none; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSo what was the word? Well, simple. Donald was drinking with former President Bill Clinton. /span/p  
/div  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Whoa, man!" said Errol. "Is that seriously the best news tip you've got? A former president drinking beer with the current chief? No wonder the people hate our asses!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA brief chuckle came across the bar after his remark. He wasn't wrong after all. This was one of many "exposés" that have been released by varying news outlets. Most of which have been "fake news," as the President has been so trigger happy to call everything. I knew for a fact though, this one wasn't./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Look Errol," I said, as stern as can be. "The administration wouldn't be pissed off at me if they didn't think we had some dirt or were getting dirt on the guy. Look, the point is, our two gals recorded some things that they probably shouldn't have ever been said in public, especially to a Clinton."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"To a Clinton?" questioned Jim. "Was he going on about the e-mails that ruined the Clinton campaign again? I could've sworn we were done with that bullshit."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAgain, another cackle or two came from the peanut gallery./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I can tell you this for fact," I said. "My White House source, you know, the same one that warned me about Mad Dog's future being uncertain? Yeah, this same guy called me up earlier today. He shot me an e-mail just now it looks like, I guess Huckabee-Sanders left Trump a voicemail this morning. I'd have to listen to it when I get back to the office, but I presume she's pissed off."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEverybody smiled and patted me on the back. That was the moment I realized I was onto something pretty damn juicy. We broke off from there, back to our day jobs as journalists. After that lunch though, the day got interesting./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs soon as I got back to the office, I wound up checking my e-mail. Lo and behold, a voicemail awaited me in my inbox./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Mr. President, it's Sarah. Look, the media knows what the hell is going on. The Post knows about your antics with Clinton, and they're going to publish that article tomorrow. You need to do something before Twitter gets a hold of this info. I think they know about that other stuff too. Call me back when you wake up, we've got a lot of C.Y.A.-ing to do."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"To the untrained journalist, that could have meant anything./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"For me? I knew I was onto something. I just didn't realize it would turn into what it did./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"For the moment being, I decided to sit back and relax in the office. I thought my work had been done for the day, and maybe even the week. After all, a political story a week keeps the bosses at bay./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"So why did a drink with Bill Clinton become such a big deal? I began to question myself on that very important question throughout the afternoon. We knew that a small percentage of our readers would be interested in the story as it would be just another crazy means to slam the President. After all, the guy did say he hated the Clintons and all. So why go on a bender with the guy whose wife you adamantly slammed left and right during the elections? I get bygones being bygones and all, but this was one of those things that made me scratch my head./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"By 5:00, it finally came time for the end of my shift. For a story that hadn't even been published yet, there was a considerable amount of buzz just to hear the "juicy details" of the man who "did not have sexual relations with that woman" and the man who "grabbed her by the pussy," who were suddenly drinking buddies./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"As I walked down along the Potomac River once more, I put in my headphones and opened up my Spotify playlist. Huey Lewis and The News began to play, and with that, I thought it was a good way to start my trek home. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"As soon as I got back to my apartment, I went for the bed and fell asleep. My phone rang. In the world of journalism, sleep is never guaranteed. This was one of those nights./span/p 


	3. Day Two

p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" Remember that phone call from last night? Well, it really was a gamechanger. It was important that I told the higher-ups at the paper what exactly I had heard./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Morning, ladies and gentlemen." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI hadn't been this nervous in a long, long time. I had multiple suspicious glances my way by my colleagues, but after all, they were a bit worried after that first article I wrote this week./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""John," said the editor, an older white gentleman who obviously had a smoking problem. "Look, you mass emailed us last night saying you think you have something big. I don't know how you can top Trump and Clinton being drinking buddies."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Greg. Trust me on this one. I wish I had recorded that whole conversation, but I took pretty damn good notes."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""John." His voice became stern. "Stop teasing me. Just give me the facts. What did you hear? What do I need to know? How big could this be?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"I wind up giving him the dirtiest look I could possibly give. These guys knew I wasn't bullshitting, so why the doubt? Nervously though, I start to tell all./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Look. I got a phone call last night. It was from the same source who called in about Trump and Bill being drinking buddies. She went to the bar, same one as last time, The Benjamin at The Trump."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"I begin to slump back into this stupidly nice leather chair. As I continue to slump into the chair, I become much more comfortable talking about the newest revelations that I just received./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Apparently, these two ladies dressed up like sluts, for lack of a better word. My source told me that these two were probably in their early-20's. The drinking buddies went up to them, waved $150 at them, and supposedly, told the ladies flat out that they wanted to have sexual intercourse with them."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Greg looks at me like I've lost my mind. Honestly, I don't blame him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""And what makes you think the idiots reading our paper will be so gullible enough to believe that!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The other reporters who were gathered in the room were also giving me the look of insanity. It wouldn't be the first time that it had happened though./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's why I called y'all in the room today. We need to pool all of our resources, so we can figure out how to actually nail this in action."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What do you think you're going to need, John?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Greg. We need decoys. Hidden cameras. Tape recorders. And a little bit of luck. If we get all of those things in a row, depending on what we get, we'll have a story on our hands before week's end."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""John. You're one crazy son of a bitch. But I got you covered."/span/p 


	4. Day Three

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"-DAY THREE-/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI got sleep last night, but admittedly, not enough. Today was the day. We had decided to hire two decoys, both prostitutes at a backdoor alleyway-type joint that Greg says he had heard of from a friend of a friend of a friend. Total bullshit though. He'll never admit to it, but there's surveillance footage of him paying good money to the ladies and snorting coke. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhat a gentleman./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt was one of the first things I was greeted with by coming into the office. A note on my desk, written on truly fancy stationary. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"John. We have the ladies, I'll send you their numbers via email. Hidden cameras are also available for you in the multimedia room, along with some of those small little audio recorders. Never say I don't look out for you. -Greg"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhat a hard-ass. But I wouldn't expect anything else from him. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"I whipped out my notepad once again just to review everything that I'd written out throughout this crazy investigation. Bill and Donald, drinking buddies. Apparently, they're sex buddies too. For the average American like myself, the sheer thought of the image makes me want to fall into the fetal position and reconsider all of my life's choices. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Were there any more secrets that the President was hiding? Yes, this "secret" was miniscule at best, but it had genuinely caused a shockwave throughout the newsroom and America. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Nevertheless, common sense and human instinct makes me think that if a person's going to hide something like this, they've got to be hiding something bigger, right? /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"I put down my notepad and finally got on the computer and checked my email. A little Google searching and his personal experience helped Greg pick which escort service we needed to go with for this investigation. So without further ado, I finally made the phone call./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""District Escort Services, just what the doctor ordered," said a male, obviously in his mid-30s. "What can I do for you tonight?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Good evening, this is John from the WaPo." My voice was wobbling. I was seriously questioning why in the hell I was calling a stripper service./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Good evening, John. Your boss told us all about your report. Still need the escorts?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"In a nervous fit, I began to chuckle a little bit. Then I gained my composure back once more. "Yessir, if we can get the two finest escorts you've got, I'll be happy. We'll pay y'all the day after, we just need to make sure the job gets done on our end."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"A short, awkward silence pursued. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Look." The man on the other end of the line's voice got serious. "As long as you keep these ladies' identities concealed in the article or the videos that I'm sure you'll be recording, they're all yours. Pay whenever. Call this number again whenever you're ready to do a story. I'll arrange to have our two best escorts come with you."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"I sigh. "Alright. Thank you very much… what's your name?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Wilson. Wilson Venable." He then hung up the phone. Silence enveloped the newsroom as I got up from my desk. They knew exactly what I knew. It was go time. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"I got up from the desk, grabbed some camera equipment, lavalier microphones, and a tote bag to carry it all in. After that, it was out the door, and away I went to the Metro./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"As soon as I headed outside, Mother Nature gave me a sign. In case I needed more reason to be worried about what's going to happen here real soon, rain started to come down, and it came down rampantly. And of course, that caused delays on the trains as well. It couldn't have been timed out any better. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"As the train quickly approached the platform, the stress and nerves were already starting to get the better of me. I began asking questions internally. "Was this drinking tip really important enough to get us to this point?" "Are the escorts really necessary to get this thing off the ground?" "Will these ladies be able to get me the story of the century hot off the presses by tomorrow?" I had a lot of time to reflect and think before I finally made it to my stop. Beautiful Chinatown./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The lights of Chinatown were starting to come on as I made it up the escalator to street level. The rain was still coming down, the nerves still at an all time high. As I walked down the street, I whipped out my phone and made the call to Wilson. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Hey Wilson. This is John. I'm here."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Alright Post man. Look, I've got two ladies who are at McDonald's. Look, as soon as you find them, you're free to do whatever you need to do with them until 3am."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That should be enough time for me to get what I need to get done done. Thank you once again, Wilson."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The call disconnected as soon as I got those words out of my mouth. As the rain continued to pour down, I began my trek to McDonald's. As I rounded the corner, my game plan was set. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"I entered the McDonald's soaking wet. It's unfortunate too, as I walked in during the middle of the dinner rush. However, as soon as I did make it in, I knew who exactly to look for. Two girls who looked like hookers. They don't teach students in journalism school how to identify hookers from the average Joe Schmo, and for the most part, that might be a good thing. In tonight's case though, not so much./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Thankfully, the two ladies made my life much easier in the way they dressed up. It was easy to tell, fishnet leggings, stupidly high heels, and perfume that you just knew would catch the attention of an old, wrinkled bastard or two./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"As I went up to order a McMuffin, the two ladies walked up to me. One was a tall, Caucasian woman, about six feet tall. The other? Asian, a lot smaller, roughly four and a half feet tall. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Nervously, I took a look at the white woman, who was fittingly a bit taller than I am./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I presume y'all are from the District Escort Services?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You must be John," said the tall one. She was blonde, a little older with wrinkles around the edges of her eyes, and had a relatively sizable bust. Again, not usually noticeable by a journalist, but in this case, I kind of just had to notice them./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What do you want us to do, and how do you want us to do it."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"With a McMuffin in one hand and a tote bag in the other, I led the ladies to a table and sat down. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Alright ladies, here's the deal." I looked at both ladies dead on in the eye. "This is a first for the three of us, I know that for fact. However, I think that this will be relatively easy... I think." There was an awkward chuckle after that. "Here's the deal. I have these two mini cameras, you'll be putting those on. They're about the size of a tip of a pen, so you should just be able to attach them onto your bra strap or something. You'll also be getting a mini audio recorder. Keep it on. Please. Both of these will be how we get the dirt. If anything serious winds up happening between you and the President or Bill Clinton, that will be our lifeline and the key for the story. Comprende?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Both ladies nodded. The mission was on./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Next stop? The Trump./span/p 


	5. Sting Night

p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"It was officially go time. The ladies were fully hooked up, microphones, cameras, and all just ready to be activated. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs we walked our way down to the Trump, I found myself mumbling things. Lo and behold, the tall blonde, her name being Claire, heard my mumbles./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So John."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What?" I look at her, my nerves still at an all-time high. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Kid, you're more nervous than we are. We're probably going to bang the President. You're just reporting the facts. Pull your trousers out of your candy ass and stop shitting bricks."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI chuckle nervously. "Look, I'm sorry I'm nervous. It's not a journalist thing, this I know. But I do know this, once this madness ends. Once y'all do whatever escorts do."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI was suddenly interrupted by Claire's partner-in-crime. "Do you want to interview us about that too, hotshot?" The sarcastic remark wasn't unnoticed, but I just chose to ignore it./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Anyway. Before the two of you actually walk into that bar, make sure you turn the recording stuff on. It's that big red button."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanClaire's eyes rolled. "No shit, Sherlock. Look, we're ready to do this."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We're getting paid extra for this, right?" said her sidekick, chuckling slightly. "I mean, having sex with a former President sounds amazing and all, but with the orange clown?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanClaire chuckled back. "Look, Kym. I get it. They're both a bunch of slobs. But here's the deal. This reporter dude wanted two em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"escorts/em to make these guys rue the day. If you don't hate yourself now, you will truly fit in well in this business. You're a rookie. If you have to think of them as your ex who took you on a roller coaster every night, then thing of them as that ex. I don't care. Just remember, we're getting paid by those two and this scrub."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI wound up rolling my eyes. I truly didn't care how much they were getting paid, or what kind of mental games they needed to play with themselves to make an old, raggedy man happy. What I did care about was what was about to happen in the next few hours. As soon as the President and his compadre walk in, it was time to execute the plan./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSeduce./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSex./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanCall it a night./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanYes, the plan was truly in place. But the thing is, plans are always better on paper than they are executed. Before we finally arrived to the bar, the rain had finally stopped. If there was one thing I was thankful for at that very moment, it was being able to dry off au naturally./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNight had truly fallen across the District midway through the walk. The lights were shining bright. The glitz and the glamor of the Trump International riveted the veins of the escorts and the journalist. We approached the entrance to the Trump, and it finally sunk in. It was go time./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI took a deep breath. "Ladies. Let's do this." They nodded in unison. "This night is about to get ugly. I cannot imagine how nervous the both of you are. But I know I'm nervous as all hell. You have my number if shit hits the fan. Text me if that's the case, okay?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOnce again, the ladies nodded in unison. Immediately after that nod, the ladies looked at each other. Then, they looked at me./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Turn those recorders on." The ladies complied. "And again. If anything goes wrong. Let. Me. Know."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes, Mr. Bossy" said Kym. Just seconds later, they were gone. The nerves officially kicked into overdrive. It was time to get as comfortable as humanly possible to watch the freakshow. But away we went. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFor the two ladies, it was easy to spot the Donald. All you had to do was look for an obvious toupee and a strangely orange hue of skin. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe two ladies walked up to the bar and saw the gentlemen. They made it no secret that they were talking to one another, and you could easily tell that Donald and Bill were having a hell of a time. It was only about to get more exciting though. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs soon as they told me they were in position, I opened an app on my phone that allowed me to watch everything happen. At that moment, all I wanted was some popcorn and a scotch on the rocks to enjoy the show that was about to ensue./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAnd I did./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Donald. Look buddy, I know you've never had a drink in your life, but for Christ's sake. Make tonight the night." Obviously, Bill had quite a few drinks by this point. "It'll make the ladies a lot more fun."span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIn signature fashion, Trump fired back a nice and sarcastic remark. "So is that what you said to Monica in the Oval Office?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Look, she was easy, okay?" Clinton's voice was starting to get more slurred. "You see those two ladies on the other side of the bar? They're like Lewinsky. If you bribe them with something, buy them gifts, or buy them booze, it's easy. I thought you knew this, DT."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDonald chuckled, as Bill sat back and enjoyed yet another snakebite. At this rate, the ladies were getting worried, and a frazzled Kym sent me a text./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"John. Bill's drunker than a college teen in the frat house. Do you still want us to get in?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Please."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAnd so with that, it began./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Anyway. Bill. We're going to make America great again. You see those skimpy ladies over there?" In one fell swoop, Bill looked at Donald and nodded. For the ladies, it was their cue. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Did somebody call for some em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"skimpy ladies?/em" said Claire in a flirty manner./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Because we can be your em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"skimpy ladies/em for the night," said Kym. "Mr. Clinton. You can have sexual relations with that woman. Mr. President?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Grab me by the pussy."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Bill. I've got an executive suite on the top floor. Let's get out of this bar and take these ladies upstairs."/span/p 


	6. Day Four

p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"On the fourth day of an investigative sting, my true love gave to me, a President having a temper tantrum… or at least, so I had heard. When I woke up the next morning, I had notifications galore just popping up on my screen. Text messages from my bosses, my colleagues, and even guys from the TV stations just checking in and hoping that I hadn't been killed by the Secret Service or something./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanBy the time I walked into the newsroom later that morning, it was time to report the findings to the bosses. It was do or die time. Whether they were prepared for it or not, they were about to see a lot more of the President than they ever begged for. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanBut hey. They asked for it./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Good morning Greg, editors, and everybody else in this meeting room." It was in that moment I realized that it's go time. "As you all know by now, our Presidential sting, as I have nicknamed it, was conducted last night. I had the unfortunate pleasure of watching every single second of the action. In case you were wondering, nobody actually finished what they started./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEverybody seemed to chuckle at my snide remark. Well, until I finally showed them the video of everything happening. Afterward, it was pure and utter silence. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"John," said Greg, both scarred from what he just saw, yet intrigued. "Get your candy ass to your computer and get this published. You have five hours. I want it at my desk for review as quickly as you can, this needs to be on the website as quickly as possible, and for Christ's sake, if it is not up on the website by then, you're toast."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI nodded at him, a smile creeping on my face. "I won't let you down, boss."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"John. One more thing. I'm going to need those video clips. Pronto. As ungodly as that garbage was, we're going to need it. I want our video guys to work on a package to go with it. The readers will believe your story so much more than without it."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Take this SD card then," I replied. "That should provide you with everything you'll ever need. Audio files, video files, you name it, it's there."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAnd from there, we went our separate ways. The videos were off to the multimedia guys, the meat and bones happening at my desk./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs soon as I got back to my desk, I checked my phone. Word was quickly starting to get around the District about the entirety of the sting. Political insiders knew that this was just the thing that would get Trump impeached. Members of the press knew that this would be the cue for all hell to break loose, but nobody was truly prepared for what was about to happen./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt took a few hours, but for the first time in my life, I was truly confident in a work I had done. A 1,241-word article, ready to be delivered to the desk of the powers that be. After double-checking the article a billion times over, I finally hit send. The revisions, the ripped hair, and everything else were officially out of my control. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanJust as I clocked out, I got a text message from the boss./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"That was beautiful."/span/p 


	7. Day Five

p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"As I walked into work the next day, everyone was hailing me as a journalistic legend. Ballsy, slightly insane, young, scrappy, and hungry. The article sold more print copies of the Post than had been sold in years. The Post's website had seen lots of traffic to the article, it crashed multiple times over. The buzz this story was causing truly blew me away, but at that rate, that was the goal./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOn the other hand, however, there was a little meltdown going on in the heart of the White House. Thankfully, my inside sources were letting me know everything that was going on. The first video the source sent me was of the President talking very sternly to his cabinet staff. Something along the lines of "these bastards at the Post are trying to get my ass impeached. What in the actual fuck do they think they're doing?" As soon as I showed that people to the fine folks in the newsroom, we all laughed hysterically. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"As journalists, we know it's our job to report the facts and find the truth in every situation, no matter how insane the cat and mouse chase. They train us on that in college. They don't train us on how to deal with crazy Presidents, however./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Immediately after the Twitter tirade was made available to us, we sure as hell posted it on our social media outlets, because after all, we're reporting the news. However, the tirades just kept coming. We had all seen the President mad before, that of course, was nothing new. Usually though, these tirades were short, mini bursts of anger. The source just kept sending us rants galore. Hell, you could actually see steam coming out of the guy's ears. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"As we got more tirades sent to us, we started to notice a little something. He started talking nukes. Nuclear guns, nuclear weapons, fallout shelters, and what not just seemed to jumble in with his ranting and raving. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"We were all confused with what any of that meant. "I'm going to blow up this place if this fake news keeps spreading." And just like a little toddler, he kept shouting "fake news, fake news!" until the cows come home. For all of us journalists though, we were just used to those cries. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"By mid-afternoon, the mood was still very lackadaisical in the newsroom. While busy, everybody was still riding on an all time high, something not usually seen in a newsroom after a Presidential scandal had been revealed. However, by 3:30, some nerves were starting to get rattled after a tweet by the "dunce in chief."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We're gonna Make America Great Again at 3:45pm Eastern. You can thank the Washington Post and their FAKE NEWS!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAnd we all laughed, albeit very nervously. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"3:45 came./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"And everybody's phones went off at the same time. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System. Take shelter immediately. Take shelter immediately. This is not a drill."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe meant it. That orange bastard meant it. Some of us made it to the fallout shelter. Others? Gone. Everything we had built? Gone./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanPetty politics at its finest?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanYou bet./span/p 


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